To Remember the Past
by Lillian James
Summary: After the tradgedy in her seventh year Lily Evans has managed to move on with her life without James. But when an unexpected Sirius Black comes knocking at her door five years later with incredible news, her world is thrown into a loop. Sorry, this summ
1. An Old Friend

**Alright, so I haven't actually finished the last fanfiction I started writing but this one just couldn't wait and I really wanted to start it. It is somewhat similar to the one I'm already in the process of writing in the way that it's been five years since Lily has last seen James but the actual plot is much, much different so bear with me. So here it is and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is the first chapter even though it's more of a prologue than an actual chapter. I know I'm mean to only put up this one part but I'll try and get the next part up as soon as I can. I just couldn't wait to get this one up. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing that you recognize from any of J.K. Rowling's work._

**To Remember the Past**

**An Old Friend**

"Damn…"

Lily Evans dropped to her knees to gather up the papers she'd just managed to scatter across her entire living room floor. Wondering for what seemed like the millionth time why God had granted her the "clumsy gene", she crawled around snatching up the student forms, one-by-one.

With the new school year just around the corner, Lily's days were becoming more and more hectic. With a countless number of lessons to plan and an infinite amount of supplies to buy, the time she had to focus on anything else was dwindling by the minute.

Which was why the dull thump on her door was a very unwelcome sound indeed. Disgruntled by the interruption and in no mood to socialize, Lily decided to ignore whoever it was. Maybe they would think she wasn't home. She continued to gather the papers, skillfully disregarding the pounding her door was receiving. It was only after an oh-so-familiar voice came drifting through the wood that she gave any notice to the visitor.

"Lily? Open up, I know you're in there!"

"That sounds like…"

She slowly stood up and padded across the soft carpet to her door. She cracked it open and peeked out only to find a very welcome but unsuspected guest standing in her doorway.

"SIRIUS!"

Lily flung the door open and immediately engulfed her old friend in a bear hug, flinging her arms around his neck. Sirius returned the embrace but with a little less enthusiasm than she had expected. She stepped back to examine his face with slight concern.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Just because I haven't seen you in a year doesn't change the fact that I know you better than most people…"

Sirius smiled slightly and tweaked her nose.

"Well, that's certainly true," he said quietly. "Now…are you going to invite me in or are we going to wait out here for Dumbledore to get here?"

"What?" asked Lily, taken aback by this news. "Dumbledore's coming? Why? Yes, yes, come in."

"By the way," said Sirius as he stepped inside and hung his cloak on the coat rack, "the next time you want someone to believe you aren't home…you could at least turn the television down and dim the lights…."

"Shut up, why is Dumbledore coming?" Lily asked impatiently.

"So what do you have to drink around here? I must say, I'm quite parched—"

"Sirius!"

"What?" he asked innocently, turning to face her.

"Sirius, what's going on?" Lily asked tiredly. "Why is Dumbledore coming to my house and what are you hiding from me?"

Sirius simply stared at her for a moment, his eyes giving away only the slightest trace of pain. After a moment, he sighed and gestured for her to follow him into the living room. She did so obediently and sat down on the couch opposite him.

"Lily, you aren't going to believe what I'm about to tell you," he said bluntly and Lily's sense of unease increased dramatically. "And I'm not sure I know how to go about telling you so you'll have to bear with me here."

"Sirius, what are you—?"

"I'm not going to do you the indecency of beginning this conversation by asking 'Do you remember what happened at the end of seventh year?' because of course you remember," Sirius cut her off. "And of course you remember that you were the only that returned from that dungeon…."

"Sirius—"

"We knew, of course, what had happened to Jenna and Thomas because we found their bodies, but James—"

"Sirius, stop it!" Lily cut in, tears stinging her eyes. She stood up and walked around the couch, turning her back on him so he wouldn't see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Lily, you have to understand—"

"I understand what happened five years ago, Sirius, I was _there_!" Lily said angrily, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"I need to know exactly what happened after you got out of the dungeon," Sirius said softly. "Please, Lily, it's important."

"I've already t-told you what happened," Lily stuttered. "Don't ask me to do it again."

"Lily, please, you don't understand—"

"Stop saying that!" Lily snapped, whipping back around to face him. He, too, had stood up and was regarding her with pleading eyes. "What in God's name could I possibly 'not understand'?"

Sirius's nerve seemed to falter.

"It's…it's complicated."

"How is it complicated?"

"That's a ridiculous question, Lily. If it's hard to explain just because it _is_ complicated, how easy do you think it would be to explain _how_ it's complicated?"

"I don't know, you tell me!" Lily demanded angrily. "You know much more about it than I do, apparently. Is it _really _complicated? Or do you just not want to tell me?"

Sirius didn't answer for a moment and the silence hung between them like an invisible curtain, one neither of them could penetrate. Lily stood, waiting impatiently for his answer, her eyes boring into his. After a moment he looked away and resignedly sank back down onto the couch, putting his head in his hands. This worried Lily more than anything else that night had. She had rarely ever seen Sirius deteriorate like this.

"Sirius—"

"Sit down, Lily," he said quietly to the floor.

Lily's stomach tightened and she gripped the back of the couch so hard her knuckles were white.

"Sirius, you're scaring me," she said, her voice shaking. "What's going—?"

"Sit down," Sirius said more forcefully this time. He looked up at her, his expression hard and unreadable. "You don't want to be standing up for this."

A frightened Lily only stared at him for a moment before skirting back around the edges of the couch and sinking down onto it, her eyes never leaving Sirius's. He sighed wearily and ran a hand anxiously through his hair, unwillingly reminding Lily of James.

"Dumbledore will be here any minute and it's important that I get this out before he arrives so I suggest you don't interrupt me. Believe me; it's for your own sake, not mine."

He paused as if waiting for confirmation that she would heed what he'd said. Lily nodded to show she understood and Sirius continued.

"This isn't easy for me, Lily, but I wanted to be the one to tell you before it got out some other way. I wanted you to hear it from a friend, someone you trust. And I'm sorry for worrying you like this. From the look on your face I can tell you're positive that I'm about to tell you something dreadful, but actually…actually, the news is quite the opposite even if it is shocking to the point of disbelief."

He paused for a brief moment to take a deep breath; Lily found she couldn't keep her mouth shut for any longer.

"I know I promised I wouldn't interrupt, but Sirius just…please, what is it?" she asked desperately.

Sirius raised his dark eyes from the carpeted floor to meet her frantic gaze evenly.

"James is alive."


	2. Dumbledore's Arrival

**Alright, chapter two. Forgive me, Dumbledore is in this chapter. Not that I think anyone hates Dumbledore, I'm just not very good at writing his parts. He's too wise and sophisticated for me. And I can never seem to convey his quirkiness just right. So forgive me as I butcher him for you. I'll do my best.**

**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing that you recognize from any of J.K. Rowling's work._

**Dumbledore's Arrival**

"Lily?"

Sirius's voice suddenly sounded so far away.

"Lily, are you okay?"

The edges of her mind were closing in around her, engulfing her in the sheer absurdity of what she'd just heard.

"Is this…is this some k-kind of cruel joke?" she stuttered, staring at the ground, her fists clenched around the cushions underneath her.

"Lily, no," Sirius said, sounding horrified. "No, how could you even think—?"

"James Potter…is dead," Lily said shakily.

"Please, you have to understand," Sirius said, moving around the table in between them and coming to sit next to her. Lily looked away from him. "No one saw what happened to James—"

"I saw!" Lily interjected angrily, tears once again stinging her eyes. "I was there, I saw it all!"

Sirius seemed to hesitate.

"Maybe…maybe you didn't see what you thought you—"

"_Stop it!"_ Lily suddenly yelled, springing to her feet once again. "Stop trying to tell me what I saw! I was there! I _watched_ as that roof c-caved in! James was t-trapped inside, Sirius! There's no way he could have—"

"Well, I'm sorry, Lily, but he must have because he's—"

"James Potter is NOT ALIVE!" Lily shouted.

_Ding dong._

Lily froze, her eyes wide open. Sirius sighed and slowly stood up.

"That's Dumbledore," he said quietly and Lily stared up at him, her watery eyes terrified. "If you don't believe me, I hope you believe him. 'Cause James is waiting outside."

He turned from her and made for the door. Dumbledore was indeed revealed to be waiting patiently behind it. They shook hands and Sirius led Dumbledore into the living room, where a shaking Lily Evans still stood rooted to the spot.

"Lily, how wonderful to see you," said Dumbledore, bowing. "Even if it is a bit ahead of schedule," he added with a smile that Lily did not return.

"I only just told her," Sirius said apologetically. "I was a bit late in getting here; I've been very behind on my work lately."

"Yes, forgive me for that," Dumbledore said as he removed his cloak and hat. "After all, it is my fault you've been shifting through every piece of news anyone has recovered. Please, Lily, do have a seat. You look absolutely petrified."

Lily didn't move. Sirius walked forward and took her gently by the arm, guiding her back to her seat on the couch. She sank down onto it, her flowing eyes resting now on Dumbledore who had taken a seat across from her. Sirius turned to join him but Lily tugged at his hand.

"Sirius, I can't d-do this alone," she whispered. Sirius gave her a small smile and sat down next to her, still holding her shaking hand. Dumbledore sent her another warm smile from across the table.

"Now, Lily, I'm going to leave tonight's proceedings entirely up to you," he said briskly. "Sirius has undoubtedly informed you that James is, in fact, waiting just outside this house. It is your call whether he comes in or not." Lily nodded. Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "Have you told her everything?"

Sirius shifted uneasily in his seat.

"No, sir, I hadn't quite finished with the first part when you arrived," he said guiltily.

"What more c-could there be?" Lily cried, looking from one to the other. It was Dumbledore who answered.

"James doesn't remember…anything," he said gently.

"What do you m-mean 'anything'?" Lily asked, looking once again from Dumbledore to Sirius and back again, her clutch on Sirius's hand tightening.

"It means, Lily, that the only thing James knows for sure is his name," Dumbledore explained. "And not even his full name at that, just that his first name is James."

"Well, why—why can't he remember anything? Where's he b-been all this time? How could have been alive for s-so long without—without anyone finding out?"

Dumbledore shook his head gravely.

"We don't know that yet," he said tenderly. "We don't know anything yet."

Lily looked away from him, her grip suddenly slackening on Sirius's hand.

"So James, he doesn't—he doesn't r-r-remember me?" she asked quietly.

"He doesn't remember me either, Lily," Sirius said softly beside her. Lily looked up at him, tears spilling from her eyes. "He doesn't remember anyone…."

There was silence as Lily searched for something in Sirius's eyes that would wake her from this dream, that would shatter this horrifying revelation into a thousand tiny pieces. But she found nothing. She looked down at her hands.

"I want to see him," she whispered. When no one moved she looked up once more, her eyes boring into Dumbledore's. "Bring him in; I want to s-see him."

"Very well," said Dumbledore, nodding.

He stood up and made for the door. Lily and Sirius looked at each other for a moment before standing up and following him slowly, Lily once again holding onto her friend's hand so tightly her knuckles were white.

"I'll be just one moment," Dumbledore said and he disappeared behind the door. As the minutes went slowly by neither Sirius nor Lily spoke. Lily could feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of her head but she didn't meet them.

The door opened. Lily jumped and moved closer to Sirius as Dumbledore reentered. For a moment there was no movement, no sound, no sign of life beyond the door. And then suddenly he was there; as if he had escaped from a dream, he was there, standing anxiously in her doorway, looking just the same as he always had.

Lily stared at him, tears pouring from her eyes. His own gaze swept slowly from Dumbledore to Sirius and finally onto her Lily herself. Lily expected him to look away, but he didn't. His expression was unreadable; he simply watched her, his dark eyes sweeping her face.

"You…you must be Lily," he said after a moment's unbearable silence. Lily seemed to come out of her trance. The words sounded so odd coming from his lips; to imagine James Potter greeting Lily Evans with anything less than a huge bear hug or a good long kiss would have been considered ridiculous five years ago.

"Y-yes, I…yes," she stuttered, unable to tear her gaze away. She leaned into Sirius for support as she took in James's messy jet-black hair and his darkened hazel eyes. There was a sadness about him that had not been there before and the sparkle that used to reside permanently in his bright eyes had disappeared, leaving them blank and devoid of emotion. How could this be the same person she'd known five years ago?

"I…I'm s-sorry," she stammered suddenly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I just—excuse me—"

And she turned out of Sirius's comforting grip to shut herself inside her bedroom, not sure whether or not she wanted to wake up from this dream. She heard her three guests wandering around in her living room for a few minutes; then the door in the entrance hall opened once and closed softly, leaving a silence behind that seemed to engulf her. She thought they were all gone, but a moment later she heard the soft trod of footsteps padding across the carpet toward her room; they were followed by a quiet knock.

"Lily? It's me," Sirius said from behind the door.

Lily sat on her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest and crying silently into it. After a moment Sirius opened the door; he paused in the doorway for a moment, his expression pained as he watched her. Slowly, he walked forward and Lily felt the bed shift slightly as he sat next to her, watching her silently. The next thing Lily knew, she was sobbing in his arms as he tried without hope to comfort her.

**No, there is not and was never anything romantic going on between Sirius and Lily. They're just extremely close so don't ask. Okay, so I know this was a short chapter, too, but don't worry, I think the next one will be longer. The last two were kind of prologue chapters, I guess you could say. I dunno, I don't make sense. Oh well, hope you enjoyed! **

**REVIEW!**

**Lillian James**


	3. Stalkers and Surprise Visitors

**EDIT: Okay, sorry about this, but i noticed a few mistakes, and now they're corrected. For one, someone's name accidentally randomly changed in the middle of the thing so yeah. Now, it's fixed.**

**Hello, there. So I haven't updated this one in FOREVER either. So forgive me…again. Once more, my computer is being an ass and I cannot really edit my chapters at the moment, so you'll have to do without page breaks. I tried to wrie PAGE BREAK where there was one, but I don't know if it will show up. But I tried. **

**All of the parts in italics are a memory. Which I'm sure you could have figured out on your own. But I thought I would point it out anyways.**

**Review please!**

**Stalkers and Surprise Visitors**

"_Lily, what are you—?"_

"_Did you see that?" Lily cut her friend off, spinning around to watch the two handsome boys bounce down Diagon Alley on the balls of their feet. Allyson turned too._

"_See what?"_

"_You didn't see—he didn't even look at me, Ally!" Lily said incredulously. Allyson raised her eyebrows._

"_And this bothers you _why_ exactly?" she asked._

"_Ally, don't you understand what I'm saying to you?" Lily snapped, frustrated. "James Potter just walked right by us and didn't even acknowledge my existence!"_

"_I should think you would consider that a plus," Allyson said pointedly. "I mean, you've been complaining about the guy for four years now. I never thought I'd see the day when you were angry that he didn't notice you."_

"_Don't be ridiculous, I'm not _angry_ he didn't look at me; I'm just…it's a little surprising, is all," Lily said, trying to recover from her sudden lack of self-control._

"_Come on, let's just get all this shopping over with," Allyson said, turning back around and starting off down the crowded street once more. Lily turned to follow but something pulled her back._

"_Wait," she said suddenly and Allyson groaned, stopped and turned to face her friend. "Wait, let's just…it looks like they're headed for The Leaky Cauldron," Lily said, peering over the heads of the people milling around them. "Let's just follow 'em for a bit."_

_Allyson stared disbelievingly at her friend. "I hope you're joking," she said._

"_Of course I'm not, let's go!" Lily said, grabbing Allyson's hand and pulling her along before she had time to argue any more. _

"_Yes!" Lily said triumphantly as the boys disappeared through the archway that led back to The Leaky Cauldron. "They _are_ going back there."_

"_Well, where else would they be going, you dolt?" Allyson said testily._

"_Come on, let's hurry, they might not stay there!" Lily said, ignoring Allyson's negative attitude._

"_I can't believe I'm letting you drag me into this…" Allyson muttered, following Lily through the magical archway and into the Leaky Cauldron._

**

* * *

**Lily walked through the empty corridors of Hogwarts, her numb brain filled only with the sounds of her own feet echoing on the floor beneath her. It was a week before the beginning of the term, and Dumbledore would be arriving the following day as would most of the rest of the teachers. This in itself wasn't such an unusual thing; the teachers always got there before the students so they could prepare for the coming year. 

But they wouldn't be the only ones arriving this time.

Lily took a deep shuddering breath, hoping it might calm some of her nerves. She couldn't bear the idea of facing him again. Much less, spending three-fourths of the year with him.

For that was the plan…James Potter was to spend the school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under Dumbledore's careful eye. Dumbledore's hope was that, by placing James in a familiar and friendly atmosphere, he would start to remember…everything. What was more, Lily was to help him in any way she could. Dumbledore made it clear that she was very welcome to refuse this suggestion, but Lily could hardly bring herself to do it. Other than Sirius, she was the one whom James had been closest in the end, and Dumbledore thought it best that he was helped by someone he had loved. And who had loved him….Sirius and Remus had promised to come to the castle whenever they could to help out and just to be there for her if it got to be too much, but this was very little consolation. She would still be spending every free minute she had with James, trying to help while at the same time trying not to hurt herself.

She bit her lip and turned into her empty classroom, making her way to the office above it.

**

* * *

**"_Quit looking at them, they'll get suspicious," Lily muttered, nudging Allyson hard in the ribs._

"_Ow!" Allyson complained, rubbing her side. "You're the one that wanted to come in here and spy on them, so that's what I'm doing!"_

"_I never said I wanted to spy on them!" Lily whispered indignantly. "That would just be ridiculous."_

"_Lily, that's what we're _doing, _you dolt!" Allyson said, rolling her eyes and glancing over at the boys' table again._

"_No, we're just…watching from a distance," Lily said, also glancing at them. Allyson stared at her._

"_You just gave me the definition of spying," she said dryly, but Lily merely rolled her eyes. "You're insane," Allyson continued. "You know that…right?"_

"_Come on, you can't tell me you're not the _least bit_ interested," Lily said impatiently._

"_I'm very interested," Allyson responded, "as to why you've suddenly got the urge to stalk James Potter and his pals…"_

"_We are _not_ stalking them!" Lily hissed._

"I'm_ not," Allyson clarified. "_You_ are. I was simply dragged into this."_

"_Dragged into what?" asked a curious and pleasantly familiar voice behind them._

"_Ronnie!" Allyson squealed, jumping off her stool to give their friend a hug. Lily swiveled around and grinned at the tall girl who reached for a hug from Lily as well._

"_So what were you dragged into, Ally?" Ronnie questioned, seating herself at the bar next to Lily._

"_Stalking Potter and Black," Allyson remarked pleasantly. Lily smacked her hard on the arm._

"_That's not true," she said irritably. "I was merely interested in why he—he…well, he just—"_

"_He didn't acknowledge her existence and it's got her panties all up in a twist," Allyson said helpfully, and Lily smacked her again._

"_What does that mean?" Ronnie asked, laughing._

"_It means we walked by him, and he just…well, he didn't even _look_ at me," Lily said fervently. "It was just…unnerving."_

"_And so now you're stalking him?" Ronnie asked amusedly. Lily scowled._

"_I am _not_ stalking him!" she said angrily._

**

* * *

**

Lily woke up early the following day, mostly out of nerves. She lay in bed for what felt like hours before finally dragging herself out of it. The shower was very relaxing and, for a brief moment, she found she wasn't too worried. But it was only a passing thing for the next second she felt she was on the verge of hyperventilating at any second.

She got dressed slowly, prolonging the moment when she would have to leave her office and face the other teachers. Acting like she was okay just didn't seem like it was going to be possible today. She had just slid her robes on when—

_Knock knock knock_

Glad for the interruption she hurried to the door of her office and flung it open, expecting it to be one of the other teachers coming to greet her. What she found, however, was an immense surprise.

"_Remus?" _she gasped.

The sandy-haired man in front of her laughed happily and swept her into an enormous hug (if a hug can be enormous) and spun her around once before setting her back on her feet.

"How are you, love?" he asked, keeping a hold on her hands and grinning.

"I—I'm—what are you doing here?" Lily asked, dazed.

"I thought you might need some emotional support. Sirius is sorry he couldn't make it; he's got a lot of catching up to do at work."

"No, no, that's—that's fine, I just—I'm _so_ happy to see you!" Lily said, throwing her arms around him once more and hugging him at tightly as she could. "How long are you going to be here?"

"Sadly, I have to leave by six tonight," Remus said apologetically. "But until then, I'm all yours."

"You're a saint, Remus Lupin," Lily said, smiling up at him. "I can't even begin to tell you how calming it is to have you here."

"Well, I must admit, I'm very impressed with you," he said. "You're handling all of this quite well. I half-expected you to be in tears when you opened the door."

"Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to be there the night I found out," Lily said darkly, leading him to the chair in her office and retrieving her shoes from by the door. "Sirius must have told you…"

"Yes, he did," Remus said, nodding. "I can't say my reaction was any better composed, though. I was basically numb with shock for two days. I had to call in sick from work because I could hardly function." He paused and sighed deeply, leaning back in the chair. "I can't imagine where he's been all this time…"

"Dumbledore _must_ know _something_," Lily said desperately, sinking down into the chair behind her desk and looking helplessly at her friend.

"Well, if he does he's kept it to himself," Remus said. He looked at her, his eyes sad and then shook his head. "Let's not dwell on it anymore for the time being. Come, what do you want to do before they arrive?"

**

* * *

**

"_Hello, there."_

_The three girls jumped at the closeness of the voice behind them. Lily spun around to find Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew standing there, looking pleasantly from one to the next. Lupin wasn't so bad, as far as the Marauders went, but Pettigrew was kind of an oddball._

"_Hi, Remus," said Allyson immediately. Lily rolled her eyes; Ally had always had a bit of a thing for Lupin, but she would never admit to it. "How has your summer been?"_

"_Quite pleasant, thank you," Lupin said, grinning. "How about yours?"_

"_Just the usual, I suppose," Ally said, smiling back._

_Pettigrew muttered to something to Lupin and then ambled back towards the table where James Potter and Sirius Black were sitting._

"_I'm sorry to interrupt you like this," Lupin continued, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But I couldn't help overhearing a snippet of your conversation as I passed."_

_Lily felt her cheeks redden automatically as Lupin's dancing eyes landed on her._

"_Whom, may I ask, are you stalking?" he asked amusedly, though she was quite positive he had already guessed the answer._

"_I don't see how it's any of your business, Lupin," she said nastily. "Why don't you go join your friends and leave us be?"_

"_She's stalking Potter," Ronnie said dryly, sipping idly at her butterbeer._

"_Ronnie!" Lily squealed indignantly, smacking her upside the head. Lupin was looking absolutely gleeful. "I was _not_ stalking Potter!" Lily said hotly, glaring from Ronnie to Lupin and back again. "And if you tell him I was I _swear_ you won't live to see your sixth year!"_

"_I won't tell him, but only if you'll tell me _why_ you were stalking him," Lupin said, still grinning._

"_I. Wasn't. Stalking. Him!" Lily said through clenched teeth. "So there's absolutely no need for an explanation."_

"_Alright, I just hope he sees it that way, for your sake," Lupin said airily, and he turned to walk away. Lily jumped out of her seat and pulled him back frantically._

"_You are _not_ going to tell him I was stalking him," she said angrily._

"_I do believe you're wrong about that," Lupin said with a wink._

"_You know, I used to think you were alright," Lily said, fuming. "But now I think you're just as much of an infuriating git as Potter and Black."_

"_Now, that's just not very nice, Evans," said another voice and Lily looked up, startled, to find Sirius Black standing right behind Remus, a playful smirk on his face. "What's up, Moony? Why haven't you joined us?"_

"_I'm trying to figure out why Lily here was stalking Prongs—"_

"_I am NOT!" Lily nearly shouted while a slow smile grew on Black's face._

"_Well, this is certainly new," he said, and before Lily could stop him he'd turned back around and shouted "Oi, PRONGS! C'mere for a minute!"_

_Potter looked up, his eyebrows raised, and then he was making his way over, looking thoroughly perplexed._

"_What's up?" he asked, stopping next to Black and looking back and forth between his friends. Lily was sure she would be capable of frying an egg on her face should she want to try it._

"_You see what you did?" she hissed at Ronnie who simply grinned happily and sat back to watch._

"_Evans here has something to tell you, Prongs," Black said, clapping him on the shoulder, and Potter's eyes turned inquisitively towards Lily._

"_I don't have anything to tell you," she said stubbornly._

"_Okay, I'll tell him then," said Black shrugging. "Prongs, Evans has been stalking you."_

"_No, I haven't!" Lily said, horrified. Just like Black, a slow grin spread across Potter's face, and his eyes danced in his sockets._

"_Is that so?" he asked, turning back to Lily._

"_No!" Lily growled. "This is so stupid—"_

"_It's your own fault, you know," Ally said pointedly._

"_It is not! You people are _so_ infuriating."_

"_In that case," Potter said, still grinning. "You wanna grab some lunch?"_

"_I'm leaving," Lily said furiously, grabbing her purse and making for the door. "And Lupin, I'm never speaking to you again."_

"_How about me?" Potter asked innocently. "Will I see you tomorrow? Maybe hiding out in my room with a camera?"_

"_Oh, shut _up_!" Lily cried in frustration, and with that she stalked out of the bar, the door slamming shut behind her._

**

* * *

**

"So how much longer until they get here?" Remus asked, chewing thoughtfully on a cookie while he and Lily lounged under a tree by the lake.

"About an hour," Lily said, sighing. "I'm not sure how I'm gonna handle this, Remus."

"You'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "Besides, that's why I'm here."

"Yes, but you're leaving in a few hours," she said miserably. "And then I'll be all alone with him. I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to act around him."

"I know," Remus said, also sighing. "I won't pretend it's not going to be hard, Lils. But you're strong. I know you can handle it. And you know where to find me if it gets too rough. Sirius, too. We're only an owl away; don't forget that."

"I know," Lily said, smiling sadly and linking her arm through his. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys. I'm sorry I've been so distant these past few years…"

"Don't worry about it, love," Remus said, smiling softly. "Things were always going to be different after what happened. It's not your fault."

Lily bit her trembling lip and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Thanks for being here, Remus," she said shakily. She felt him kiss the top of her head lightly.

"You're welcome," he said softly. "But you should know I really just came for the free dinner…"

Lily laughed and pulled away.

"Shut up, you," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve and hitting him lightly.

"C'mon," he said, smiling. He stood up, brushed himself off, and pulled Lily to her feet as well. "Let's go prepare our souls for a heart-wrenching night."

"Oh, well, when you put it _that_ way it doesn't sound so bad," Lily said sardonically. Remus laughed and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, leading her back up towards the castle in the distance.

**Okay, so yeah, that's that.**

**I hope it was an enjoyable chapter.**

**I liked it. It was fun to write.**

**If it seems different than the other chapters, that's because I haven't written in forever and so some stuff about my writing has changed.**

**REVIEW!!! Please…**

**Lillian James**


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